Una Semana en Chimbote

¡Buenas tardes a todos! I write you tonight from the convent where lives Sr. Juanita, from Texas, who has lived here for 11 years and among many other things has overseen the rebuilding of the medical clinic and construction & opening of a hospice ministry here, both projects of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.

There is much to say and share about my first week here, so let me share a few first impressions--
1. There are almost no private cars here because few can afford to buy one, but that does not mean that the streets are quiet. In fact, if you take a walk for a few blocks around here (the distance from our house to the parish and convent) you will almost invariably see, and have to be wary of, a variety of conveyances. These might include a donkey pulling a cart of corn or produce headed for the market, a `moto`, which is a three wheeled motorcycle/taxi with room for two passengers, a bicycle (two or three wheeled varieties, some used also to carry goods), a `combi` (minivan style taxi with a set route that holds limitless amounts of people), a `tico`(small Yugo-shaped taxi, a car (old US models), trucks, medium-sized buses. And, nearly all of them seem to be honking for some reason or another, usually to indicate that they are free and to ask if you would like to ride. If you do, just raise your hand and off you go.
2. The streets here (which have no street signs, but still everyone knows their names) are mostly dirt, which makes for a lot of dust (including in the house). Many people begin their day by watering the street in front of their house (to keep cleaning effort down) and by sweeping the dirt to remove trash - it seems to collect rather rapidly. Though not as bad as I pictured from descriptions prior to coming, the trash collection system is not well developed. Also, dogs of all sizes abound, thought I havent yet run into any aggressive ones. Some are obviously stray dogs, but many seem to be pets. The dogs also seem to enjoy barking at night and in the early morning.
3. Our house, rented by the sisters, is simple, fairly spacious, two story, four bedrooms (one extra for visitors!), with a kitchen, dining area, and living area. It is among the more solidly built of the neighborhood, but doesn´t stand out too much. We have a gas stove with propane (delivered by truck), fairly warm showers (heater on the shower head), and compost cylinders in the back yard/patio. An upstairs patio has an outdoor sink and close line for washing and drying clothes (did my first load by hand yesterday -- good for the forearms with all the wringing.
4. I will be mostly helping out at the local parish (St. Francis of Assisi, just like Burney!) with the youth program, but am waiting until after the busyness of celebrating his feast day (Thursday the 4th) has concluded until meeting formally with young priest in charge of youth programs there. Thus far though, we have attended a street mass in our neighborhood and sat in on a play rehearsal with the confirmation group (on the life of St. Francis), and attended a lively choir festival at the parish on Sunday. After visiting various ministries in the neigborhood and seeing parts of the city with Sr. Juanita last week, this week we each are accompanying one of the hospice workers in their home visits during the mornings (8-1). Today we visited six different patients, and the worker I was with focused on spiritual support -- prayers, singing, conversation, and communion. She (Justina) is very good at what she does, and I enjoyed the chance to visit the patients and their families in a variety of living conditions (only one with dirt floors). One patient had died the previous day and we payed our respects at the wake. Of course, this was also a great way to see neighborhoods of the city by a mixture of combi-taxi-walking with lots of practice in speaking and listening to Spanish.
5. Last week Sr. Juanita asked me to visit a man`s home who sets up each day in front of the convent with his shoe repair equipment. A friend of Sister`s from the US is coming down and might be able to help make improvements to his house, and she asked be to take a look to see where we might start. I walked with him from the convent and we spoke a bit about his situation. He was born in the Andes but came with his wife to Chimbote about eight years in search of work. He works seven days per week in order to earn the 10-15 soles ($4-$5) daily that he uses to buy food for his family that includes eight children. He owns a small piece of land and his house two solid walls connected by two walls of bamboo & poles, a water source and sewer connection, one small area set off by plywood with three beds, a roof of bamboo and plastic, and a dirt floor. Just next the house he has a couple of chickens. We think that we will start by trying to put in a concrete floor and some plywood walls to help keep out the cold. Generally that is the progression of growth here. People come from the mountains and squat on land with just mats, then raise shelters of poles and bamboo matts, then switch to plywood, then concrete floors, then a brick structure, then stucco/paint over the outside. In most neighborhoods, you can see houses in each of these stages.
6. It never rains here and there are few trees or greenery, though there are signs of noble efforts in some sections to carve out patches of green and parks (a lot different than Oregon)!. We are on the coast in springtime here, so the weather is grey in the morning, sunny in the afternoon, and chilly and windy in the evening. Apparently this winter has been colder than normal.
7. We shop at the local mercado, which is a crazy mixture of sound, smell, and sights. Vegetables are fresh but need to be washed, and the meat was alive not too long ago (I`m told that if you arrive early enough you can see the vendors killing and plucking the chickens).
8. One last thought -- hearing the gospel reading last night (parable of Lazarus and the rich man) in such a different context -- not a mostly-wealthy US parish but a church full of people that most of the world would consider poor -- struck me, and the sermon didn`t focus on the rich man but on need, and why God would allow extreme need to exist. By the way, the youth choir at the mass was great. I am thinking of trying to join and help out on the guitar.

Well, thanks for making it this far. There are a lot more details to share, but this gives a decent outline so far. I cannot post photos from this computer, but will try to go to an internet cafe soon to show some visuals of what I have described above. God bless!